Financial key performance indicators

Over the past business year the Metal Forming Division demonstrated growth both in revenue and across all results categories. This is not only the consequence of an improved operating environment (particularly in the fourth quarter), but is mainly due to the division consistently implementing its internationalization strategy. Accordingly, the Automotive Components business segment, which has undergone the greatest expansion, is responsible for the largest contribution to the 9.0% rise in revenue from EUR 2,224.9 million to EUR 2,426.1 million. The Tubes & Sections business segment also succeeded in driving up its revenue, most recently through the acquisition of Canadian company Summo Corp., which is specialized in tube components for the automotive industry and has been included in the financial statements for the division since the second quarter of 2016/17. In turn, during the past business year the Precision Strip business segment benefited from an excellent market position and improved demand from China so that, similar to the Warehouse & Rack Solutions business segment, it was able to further increase its revenue in a year-over-year comparison. In terms of earnings performance, both the Tubes & Sections and the Warehouse & Rack Solutions segments demonstrated a stable and solid performance, while earnings in the Automotive Components and Precision Strip business segments improved even further. Based on this overall strong performance, the operating result (EBITDA) for the Metal Forming Division in 2016/17 amounted to EUR 317.0 million, around 9.1% above the value of EUR 290.5 million from the previous year. Profit from operations (EBIT) improved in the same period by 8.3%, from EUR 194.5 million to EUR 210.7 million. As revenue and results have risen in step, in 2016/17 both the EBITDA margin, at 13.1%, and EBIT margin, at 8.7%, are unchanged in comparison with the values from the previous year.

Comparing the third quarter of 2016/17 directly with the fourth quarter, the upswing which occurred at the end of the business year is clearly observable. Accordingly, the Metal Forming Division increased its revenue by 18.7% from the third to the fourth quarter, from EUR 566.0 million to EUR 672.1 million. In a direct quarter-to-quarter comparison the division’s two largest business segments, Tubes & Sections and Automotive Components, also recorded the greatest revenue rises in percentage terms. As far as earnings are concerned, all four business segments showed significant improvements, with Tubes & Sections achieving the greatest jump in results. The segment was also able to benefit from increased prices—although with significantly higher prematerials costs—as well as a seasonal rise in delivery volumes. Against this backdrop, in a quarter-to-quarter comparison the division’s operating result (EBITDA) rose by over a third, from EUR 69.9 million (margin: 12.3%) to EUR 93.7 million (margin 13.9%). The improvement in profit from operations (EBIT) was even clearer, rising by 46.3% from EUR 43.6 million in the third quarter to EUR 63.8 million in the fourth quarter. As a result, in a quarter-to-quarter comparison the EBIT margin rose from 7.7% to 9.5%.

As of the end of the business year 2016/17, the number of employees (FTE) in the Metal Forming Division was 11,073, or 5.8% above last year’s figure (10,470). This rise is primarily the result of expansion of automotive activities at international sites as well as the acquisition of Summo Corp. in Canada.